Flatiron support



Jan. 29, 1952 wA s JR 2,584,071

FLATIRON SUPPORT Filed Dec. 4, 1945 Patented Jan. 29, 1952 FLATIRON SUPPORT Preston M. Wallis, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Proctorv Electric Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 4, 1945, Serial No. 632,643

2 Claims.

forwardly extending legs located on opposite sides of the fiat-iron body. Examples of this type of flat-iron are those disclosed in the J. W. Myers, et a1. Patent No. 2,019,431 and the J. C. Fagan Patent No 2,296,913. In the preferred form of such an iron, the supporting legs have relatively wide supporting surfaces and they recede into side recesses in the sole plate and are thus disposed slightly above the working surface during the ironing operation. With such an arrangement, the working edge of the flat-iron is impaired to some extent and the working area of the iron is substantially reduced.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved flat-iron of this type or class in which the above-mentioned objections are eliminated. More particularly the object of the invention is to provide a novel flat-iron construction in which the working edge of the iron is not impaired in any way, and the Working area of the iron is not materially reduced.

This object is achieved by the provision of a support comprising a narrow supporting leg adapted to seat in a narrow recess in the sole plate spaced 'from the edges thereof, the said support also comprising a, transverse supporting member located at the rear of the iron beyond the sole plate and cooperating with the said leg to supportthe iron. Such construction accom plishes'the aims of the invention Without impairing the stability of the supported iron.

The invention may be fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment, and. in which:

Fig. 1 is a small-scale side elevational view of a flat-iron constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly'in section, showing the flat-iron in supported position;

Fig. 3 is a small-scale perspective view or" the flat iron with the support in operative position;

ceive a cross-bar I6 (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the support which is employed in accordance with this invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 3,. the flatiron comprises a, flat-iron body I and a handle 2 attached thereto. At least part of the handle is hollow, as shown in Fig. 2, to accommodate the support-controlling mechanism described hereinafter. The body I comprises the usual sole plate 3 and cover 4 Whichpreferably extends beyond the rear of the sole plate to provide a rearwardly-extending hood. 5. Asupporting bracket 5 is secured to the rear. of the sole plate, as by screws 1, and has turned-up ears or lugs 8 tor mounting the support 9 which is shown separately in Fig. 5. I

Referring to Fig. 5 the support 9 comprises a transverse supporting member ID having substantial width, and a relatively narrow supporting leg I I secured to or integral with member I 0 andextending substantially at right angles thereto. Preferably the transverse member I0is sufliciently long to extend substantially the width of the flat-iron, as may be seen in Fig. 3, and the leg I I is located substantially midway betweenthe ends of said member. Extending upwardly from the ends of the member Ill are a pair of similar arms I2 which are shaped as shown in Fig. 5, and which carry a roller I3 at their upper ends. The support 9 is pivotally mounted on the apertured lugs 8 by means of a transverse pin M which extends through the apertured lugs and is carried by the arms I2. The arms l2 are recessed at Iiito. re- A heavy helical spring IT has one end anchored to a lug I8 on bracket 6', while the other end of the spring is retained by a nut I9 carried by. a screw 20. The screw 20 extends through an opening in the cross-bar IS. The spring I! is thus adapted to urge the support 9 to its operative position, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to support the: flat-iron above a working surface represented at 2|.

While it ispreferred to employ a spring. urging the support to its operative position, as illustrated and as in the fiat-iron disclosed in the above-mentioned Fagan patent, the use of a spring is not necessary as may be seen by reference to the E. C..Reid' Patent No. 2,308,106, and the R. O. Stevenson Patents Nos. 2,308,125 and 2,308,941.

Any suitable mechanism may be employed for controlling the movable support. In the. specific illustration, and as clearly shownin Fig. .2; the

controlling mechanism is similar to that: shown in the above-mentioned Fagan patent, and a brief description of such mechanism will suflice. Within the hollow portion of the handle 2 is an arm or lever 22 pivotally mounted at 23 and formed at its rear portion to provide a cam edge 24. The said arm or lever also carries a saddle member 25 which protrudes through an opening in the handle. also mounted on pivot 23 and extends through an opening at the front of the handle. This member carries a serrated knob 21 which is engageable by the thumb of the user. A latch bar 28 is pivotally connected to member 26 at 29 and is slidably supported by an apertured lug 30 on arm 22. The free end of latch bar 28 is adapted to cooperate with a stationary latch member 3| secured within the handle, as by screws 32. A helical spring 33 has one end secured to the latch bar 28 at 34, and has its other end secured to the lug 30 at35. This spring urges the latch bar to its operative position.

Referring again to the support 9 to which the present invention is particularly directed, it will It will 7 A finger-operable member 26 is ture, as may be clearly seen in Fig. 5. In further accordance with the invention, a narrow recess 36 (see Fig. 3) is provided in the bottom surface of the sole plate 3 and extends lengthwise of the iron from the rear thereof, substantially midway between the side edges of the sole plate. When the support is in its inoperative position, the leg H is seated Within the recess 36 slightly above the working surface, as shown in Fig. 4.

In order that the leg H shall not become excessively hot, the recess 36 is made wider than the leg, and the support 9 is accurately centered on its mounting lugs 8 so as to maintain the leg II out of engagement with the side walls of recess 36. The recess is also made deep enough so that the greater part of the leg may be maintained out of engagement with the floor of the recess. A slightly raised step 31 (Fig. 2) is provided at the front end of the recess so as to maintain the leg in slightly spaced relation to the recess floor, except, of course, at the front end where the leg engages the step 31.

In using the particular form of the iron illustrated, the user manipulates the manual control elements 25 and 21 in the same manner as described in the above-mentioned Fagan patent. Assuming that the iron is in the supported position shown in Fig. 2, when it is desired to proceed with the ironing operation the user simply presses downward on the handle to lower the iron onto the working surface, and at the same time exerts pressure on the saddle member 25 with the heel" portion of the hand. The cam portion 24 of arm 22 engages roller l3 and moves the support 9 so as to slightly elevate the same above the working surface. At the same time, the latch members 28 and 3! function cooperatively to latch the arm 22 and thus latch the support 9 in its inoperative position. The user then proceeds with the ironing operation in the usual manner.

When it is desired to interrupt the ironing operation, the user moves the knob 21 forwardly, thus moving the latch bar 28 out of engagement with the latch member 3|. The spring I! is then eifectiveto raise the flat-iron to its supported position as shown in Fig. 2.

- It will be noted that the support provided by this invention does not in any way impair the workin edge of the sole plate 3, and it permits the use of the rear corners of the ironing surface. Moreover, since there is only one supporting leg which is of narrow width, and the sole plate recess therefor is correspondingly narrow, the support does not materially reduce the working area of the iron. Further still, since the iron is supported by the T-shaped structure comprising the transverse member I 0 and the leg I I, the supported iron is stable and has no tendency whatever to tip over.

As mentioned previously, the mechanism associated with the support may take various forms. For example, it may take the form of any one of the several structures shown in the above mentioned Reid and Stevenson patents.

While a specific form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a flat-iron, a, fiat-iron body including a sole plate having a plane bottom surface with a heel portion and a toe portion at opposite ends thereof, the said bottom surface having a relatively long and narrow recess midway of the sides thereof and extending longitudinally from said heel portion toward said toe portion and terminating at a point between the longitudinal center of said bottom surface and said. toe portion thereof; support means for the fiat-iron including a first member extending transversely of the fiatiron at the rear of the heel portion of said sole plate for substantially the full width of said heel portion and having a bottom supporting surface, and a second relatively lon and narrow member connected to said transverse member substantially midway thereof and having a bottom supporting surface, said second member extending substantially the full length of said recess, said support members having their bottom supporting surfaces in the same plane; a pivotal connection between said support means and the fiat-iron body located at the rear of the heel portion of said sole plate and supporting said bottom supporting surfaces above the plane of the bottom of said sole I plate when said support means is in non-supporting position; and actuating means under the control of the operator of the fiat-iron for moving said support means about said pivotal connection to a position wherein the co-planar bottom supporting surfaces of said support members are below the plane of the bottom of said sole plate and said support means assumes a supporting position with the flat-iron body entirely above said support means.

2. In a fiat-iron, a flat-iron body including a, sole plate having a plane bottom surface with a heel portion and a toe portion at opposite ends thereof, the said bottom surface having a relatively long and narrow recess midway of the sides thereof and extending longitudinally in said sole plate and terminating at a point between the 1ongitudinal center of said bottom surface and said toe portion thereof; support means for the flat iron including a first member extending transversely of the flat-iron at the rear of the heel portion of said sole plate for substantially the full width of said heel portion and having a bottom supporting surface, and a second relatively long and narrow member connected to said transverse member substantially midway thereof and having a bottom supporting surface, said second member 5 extending substantially the full length of said recess, said support members having their bottom supporting surfaces in the same plane; a pivotal connection between said support means and the flat-iron body located at the rear of the heel portion of said sole plate and supporting said bottom supporting surfaces above the plane of the bottom of said sole plate when said support means is in non-supporting position; and actuating means under the control of the operator of the flat-iron for moving said support means about said pivotal connection to a position wherein the oo-planar bottom supporting surfaces of said support members are below the plane of the bottom of said sole plate and said support means assumes a supporting position with the fiat-iron body. entirely above said support means.

PRESTON M. WALLIS, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 777,570 Tolin Dec. 13, 1904 1,691,434 7 Dworkin Nov. 13, 1928 2,019,431 Myers et a1 Oct. 29, 1935 2,286,284 Kremer June 16, 1942 2,296,913 Fagan Sept. 29, 1942 2,308,106 Reid Jan. 12, 1943 2,308,125 Stevenson Jan. 12, 1943 2,308,941 Stevenson Jan. 19, 1943 2,422,505 Tangeman et a1. June 17, 1947 

